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Sunday was one of those serendipitous days when I had the wonderful opportunity to see a master at work. Robert Gary Parkes gave an exclusive glass blowing demonstration to members of my camera club. He was articulate in explaining a little of the history of glass blowing, talked about various kinds of glass, and showed us how he combined glass to create stunning colours.

We were all happily snapping away trying to catch his every move. I experimented with a variety of aperture and shutter settings and used a tripod to help capture some of the action. If you’ve ever seen glass blowing you will know how fast the artisan has to work to keep the molten glass from hardening too quickly.

Here’s an image I took while Robert was swinging the rod with hot glass back and forth in an almost dance-like rhythm.

Heart-shaped maps are one thing, but maps of the human heart are quite another, and I’ve got both on this Valentine’s Day. The charting of emotional territory, as opposed to physical space, has resulted in the production of several interesting maps from the seventeenth century to the near-present. Below are the companion Map of the Open Country of a Woman’s Heart and Map of the Fortified Country of a Man’s Heart, ostensibly and anonymously drawn “by a lady” and published by the Kellogg Brothers of Hartford, Connecticut in the 1830s. These heart maps, along with lots of other examples of the Kellogg’s impressive lithography, can be viewed at the online gallery of the Connecticut Historical Society and Museum.

I’ve brightened and cropped both maps so that you can better see the different regions that make up these human hearts. It’s very interesting that the woman’s heart is an “open”…

You used to make me laugh every week. We had some great moments, you and me. Those times I almost peed my pants. The episodes I watched over and over again. The Pineapple, the Duel, the Slutty Pumpkin, the Goat… Sandcastles in the Sand and Let’s Go to the Mall had me rolling on the floor. All the hints and flash forwards kept me interested, trying to figure out if we had met the mother yet and who she could be. Every week I would be so excited for the new episode. And then you started changing on me.

The focus shifted. It was no longer about Ted. And frankly, that was okay. Lily, Marshall, Barney & Robin had become more interesting. Ted, you started getting on my nerves. This break up is mostly your fault. You can’t complain about how you want…

I make a variety of craft goods from handmade books to needle felted brooches. I need to have a new name for my Etsy site and just a name for myself in general. Please take the poll and help me name my store!

Let take a minute and look in to the history of toilet paper and be thankful that it is here.

Background

Most of us can’t imagine living without toilet paper. The average American uses over 100 single rolls—about 21,000 sheets—each year. It’s used not only for bathroomhygiene, but for nose care, wiping up spills, removing makeup, and small bathroom cleaning chores. Manufacturers estimate that an average single roll lasts five days.

Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and facial tissues are sanitary papers, personal products that need to be clean and hygenic. They’re made from various proportions of bleached kraft pulps with relatively little refining of the stock, rendering them soft, bulky, and absorbent. Sanitary papers are further distinguished from other papers in that they are creped, a process in which the paper is dried on a cylinder then scraped off with a metal blade, slightly crimping it. This softens the paper but makes it fairly weak, allowing it to disintegrate in water.

Toilet paper can be one-or two-ply, meaning that it’s either a single sheet or two sheets placed back-to-back to make it builder and more absorbent. Color, scents, and embossing may also be added, but fragrances sometimes cause problems for consumers who are allergic to perfumes. The biggest difference between toilet papers is the distinction between virgin paper products, which are formed directly from chipped wood, and those made from recycled paper. Most toilet paper, however, whether virgin or recycled, is wrapped around recycled cardboard cylinders.

History

Before paper was widely available, a variety of materials were employed. The Romans used an L-shaped stick (like a hockey stick) made of wood or precious metal; at public toilets people used sponges on sticks that were kept in saltwater between uses. In arid climates, sand, powdered brick, or earth was used. Until the late nineteenth century, Muslims were advised to use three stones to clean up. One favorite tool was a mussel shell, used for centuries. Until the early twentieth century, corn cobs were used.

In the late fifteenth century, when paper became widely available, it began to replace other traditional materials. Sometimes old correspondence was pressed into service, as were pages from old books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs. People also used old paper bags, envelopes, and other bits of scrap paper, which were cut into pieces and threaded onto a string that was kept in the privy.

Toilet paper is a fairly modern invention, making its debut around 1880 when it was developed by the British Perforated Paper Company. Made of a coarser paper than its modern incarnation, it was sold in boxes of individual squares. In America, the Scott Paper Company made its Waldorf brand toilet paper in rolls as early as 1890. The first rolls were not perforated, and lavatory dispensers had serrated teeth to cut the paper as needed. It was a nearly “unmentionable” product for years, and consumers were often embarrassed to ask for it by name or even be seen buying it. Timid shoppers simply asked for “Two, please,” and the clerk presumably knew what they wanted. To keep things discreet, toilet paper was packaged and sold in brown paper wrappers.

During the 120 years since its introduction, toilet paper has changed little, although it’s now perforated, and may be scented, embossed, or colored. Recently, toilet paper manufacturers increased the number of sheets on a roll, allowing consumers to replace the roll less frequently.